E-Scooter rental company pulls out after deaths

AMERICAN e-scooter rental firm Revel has closed its doors after two riders in a month were killed on the streets of New York using the devices.

The deaths while using the ride-share rental scooters aren’t the only serious incidents since the launch of the service. There has also been a string of serious accidents, some of which have left two men in critical condition at a hospital.

The issue with the rental e-scooters is that users have been flagrantly flouting the law while using them, with reports of users riding without a helmet being the main issue. There have also been reports of users riding on pavements, the wrong way down roads, and even in parks and gardens where conventional vehicles are banned.

The latest death was of a Brooklyn resident who is reported to have been killed after striking a streetlight pole last Tuesday. The other rider to succumb while riding one was CBS newswomen Nina Kapur. It is reported by CBS that she was the passenger of one of the machines at the time of the crash.

If New York residents now open the app to rent one of the Revel scooters is told that the service is now closed. CBS also reports that the electric motorcycles are now littering the streets of the city as they can no longer be used.

While the Revel scooters are not the same as those being backed by the government in the UK – Boris Johnson is currently rolling out electric scooter rentals in London, with other cities being earmarked for launch also. It is a chilling reminder that when people without proper training, experience or safety gear take to the roads on a powered vehicle, accidents can and more than likely will happen.